The Will of The Heart
by Mango4
Summary: KxB Priestess Kaoru is the sacrifice in Prince Kenshin's crowning ceremony to ensure years of good reign. Slightly smutty. **If you read ETERNAL DARKNESS, and still waiting for a chappie PLEASE LET ME KNOW Chapter is 75% done But no point if noone reads
1. Default Chapter

**The Will of The Heart  
  
By: Mango4  
**

* * *

  
  


The grassy hilltop was gone. The long blades of grass that scratched her knees were gone. Now grey branches tore at her hair, her arms, her face. Angry voices accompanying the thud of metal against bark chased her.  
  
Kaoru ran as best she could, pushing the twigs out of her eyes, trying to ignore the pain in the soles of her feet. She was cold. They maids of the palace had barely put on the ceremonial gowns before she had pushed them, and bolted clear of the outdoor bath.  
  
She turned her head over her shoulder to gauge the distance of the soldiers, which she could not see anymore. When she had turned back she realized she came to a clearing. And in the clearing, was figure with red hair. She barely had a glance at him before she whimpered and turned her heel, hoping that it was not too late to escape.  
  
A rough hand grabbed her by the wrist and another pushed her shoulder into the dirt. She landed hard, and the last thing she saw before she went down was her wispy hair a black frame around amber eyes.  
  
She closed her eyes, and expected to be strangled, beaten and tied up again. But the when man pulled a cloak over the two of them, she started to scream. Kaoru had not even opened her mouth before he closed his over hers. He wouldn't budge; she pushed at his shoulders, her hand making fists of the cloth. His hands on her shoulders kept her pinned to the ground.  
  
When the voices and footsteps of her assailants drew close, the man lifted his head only to immediately cover her mouth with his hand. He brought a single finger to his lips, and Kaoru nodded, trying to control her laboured breathing. The lack of expression on his face frightened her.  
  
He pulled the cloak from his head, allowing his profile to be seen, "What is it?"  
  
Kaoru could hear their swords being dropped as the soldiers kneeled, "Forgive us, prince Himura, we were sent to capture a woman who had escaped from the palace. Perhaps you've seen a woman running through here?"  
  
"I haven't so much as heard a twig snap. Now leave, I'm busy."  
  
"As you wish, your highness." The soldiers fumbled with their swords and mumbled as they walked away.  
  
"Just Himura with another maid,"  
  
Himura waited till the trudge of their footsteps were faint before he pulled the cloak and stood up from his straddling position.  
  
He hauled her from the ground by the wrist and stared her in the eyes, "Why were they chasing you?" He questioned.  
  
"I stole food from the kitchen." Kaoru answered simply, meeting his gaze.  
  
He let his eyes run her over and almost smirked, "You certainly don't look like a petty thief."  
  
Kaoru was wearing an almost see-through blue dress of gauzy material, slits in the cloth ran up to her hip and a strip of cloth at the waist held it to her body. The hem of the dress that pooled to her feet was ripped and muddied. A sapphire hung that on a silver chain glittered on her throat.  
  
"I stole this too."  
  
He stared at her for moment before heading off in one direction, and pulling her along.  
  
"Let me go!" She demanded, pulling against him, and clawing at his hand. "Where are you taking me?"  
  
"First," He started slowly, not even looking back at her, "We're going to get you cleaned up and then you're going to tell me who you are."  
  
"I'm no one, I'm nobody, I'm just a servant."  
  
Kaoru suddenly screamed, and fell to the ground. One hand was clasped around her ankle, and she bent over her foot, whimpering softly.  
  
"Stop, stop." She watched him from the corner of her eye as he stooped, "I hurt my ankle, I think I twisted it." She said this as she looked up at him, her face contorted in pain.  
  
"Here, let me take a look at it," Himura said, motioning for her to take her hand off her ankle.  
  
"Okay." And he saw the pain in her face vanish a split second before she punched him squarely in the jaw.  
  
Himura was stunned, and by the time he recovered she had gone from his view. He rubbed his jaw, and sprinted after her.  
  
Kaoru felt an arm encircle her waist from behind, and throw her to the ground. She closed her eyes and the smell of crushed flowers rose from the ground like a dust cloud. He was straddling her again, and had pinned both her wrists to ground beside her head.  
  
"Nice try,"  
  
"I know." She said between breaths.  
  
Himura picked her up and slung her on his shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. She struggled considerably; his hand on her lower back didn't stop her from kneeing him in the chest.  
  
"I'm not making it easy for you!" She declared.  
  
"The same goes for the two of us,"  
  
Kaoru laced her fingers together and jammed her elbow hard against the back of Himura's head. A cry of surprise escaped from his lips, and he pitched forward. Instead of losing his grip, as she had hoped he collapsed on top of her. Kaoru wound back and was going to punch him in the side of the head, when he caught her fist and pinned it to the ground.  
  
"You don't know when to stop, do you?"  
  
"Didn't I say I wasn't going to make it easy?" And she tried to knee him in the stomach, just for good measure.  
  
He hauled her up again, and pulled both her hands behind her back. He pushed her wrists into the small of her back and urged her forward.  
  
Kaoru was still thinking of a way to escape when they came to a small spring.  
  
"Stop," Himura said, and he pushed her into a sitting position.  
  
She stared at him while he tended the cuts on her arms, holding both her wrists in one hand while cupping water and pouring it onto her shoulder with the other.  
  
He had amber eyes, and long straight hair which he kept in a high ponytail. The bones in his face were delicate, feminine almost, but the grip on her wrists was iron.  
  
He was tending to the cut on her calf, when he broke the silence, "You're the priestess aren't you?" When she didn't answer he continued, "The sacrifice."  
  
She didn't answer, and he moved onto a cut on the back of her thigh. He pushed her dress in between her legs, and she leaned on her side for him. He cupped the water and poured it over the cut. Kaoru shivered, from the cold water running over her skin and the sting that the still fresh cut produced. He rubbed the dry blood away with his thumb.  
  
Himura was pouring spring water onto her cheek when Kaoru whispered, "Are you going to kill me?"  
  
The heel of his palm wiped away the red from her milky white complexion, "No," He said softly, not meeting her eyes.  
  
"But I'm yours,"  
  
He stopped, and let go of her wrists.  
  
Settling back on his heels he finally looked at her, "Do you want to be mine?"  
  
"I want to be free," She whispered.  
  
He was silent, and still as stone save for the turn of his head towards the spring. Finally he looked at her from the corner of his eyes.  
  
Himura brought his hand down quickly against the back of her head, and she collapsed instantly, her cerulean eyes rolled into the back of her head as she swooned.  
  
Kaoru went out like a light.

* * *

  
  
  
  
Oh, the stones.  
  
Smut coming in later chapters .  
  
Sorry everyone for abandoning my other fic, but I reeaaaally don't like it anymore. And am considering deleting it...  
  
More will be explained next chapter. Meh.  
  
Review and I'll lub you XD 


	2. Pet

WOW hiatus. More like hibernation. I found this old chappie sitting in my old old computer... and I thought, ehh why not just post 'er up.

**I WILL BE UPDATING ETERNAL DARKNESS SOON DEPENDING ON IF ANYONE STILL READS IT (IF SO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW), THE CHAPTER IS 75 DONE BUT THERE'S NO POINT IF NOONE READS IT**

**Chapter 2 -- Pet**

Kaoru woke up strangely…comfortable

She woke up in something soft. She sat up quickly, and the silk bedding slipped to a black pool in her lap.

She rubbed her eyes and look around the room. It was as big as the garden in the temple, tapestries hung from the walls, and a white bearskin rug adorned the floor. Something red stirred.

In a lightening fast motion she pulled the sheet up to her collarbone. She felt her face warm as the blood turned her face and neck a deep red flush.

"Don't bother covering up. I've already seen everything."

"Y-y-y-"

Kenshin stopped what he was doing, and when she heard a clatter as he dropped something red to the floor and began towards her, she saw that he had been sharpening his sword on a ruby.

Kaoru pulled the sheet up to her chin, and held it tighter.

He sat beside her and leaned on his elbow. "What? Did you think I'd bring you into the palace with your robes on?" He reached towards her and she shrank back.

"What are you doing?" She almost stammered, moving back from him as much as she could.

"I saved your life," He reached towards her again, this time faster so she didn't have time to react.

He fingered the sapphire hanging at her neck. "At any rate-you should thank me." He said with a smirk on his face. He hooked a finger in the bed-sheet that was covering her, tugging it slightly.

"Well then, thank you." She said, pushing his hand away, and wiggling further from him. She turned her head away from him, and faced forward.

"That wasn't what I meant…" A breath close to her whispered and she felt a tickle.

She fell onto her back on the bed, with her wrists pinned above her. Kaoru squeezed her eyes shut and turned away. She tried her hardest not to scream. Nothing happened, but his grip didn't loosen.

When she opened her eyes a slit and then turned to face him. He was staring at her full in the eyes and was about an inch from her face.

"Just kidding," He said, slowly backing off of her. He stood looking down at her, and for a moment the only sound that filled the room was her panting. "You didn't think that was funny, did you?"

"No, I didn't." Kaoru said crossly.

"If I wanted to do something, I would have done it already. Say, when you were unconscious." Kenshin stated. "Not like there's much to see, anyway."

Kaoru felt strangely insulted. "Well, I wouldn't have to worry about you raping me now. And I'd take that to being appealing to you _anyday._"

He stepped toward the bed, put one hand on the mattress and leaned toward her. He stared at her eyes again and she fought the urge to back up or look away. He hooked one finger under her necklace and pulled her forward. "Oh, it wont be rape." He blew into her lips mockingly.

Without waiting for her sputtering reply, he went back to his katana. He took a ruby studded necklace in one hand and with a knife he plucked and stabbed at the jewel until the metal came loose and it popped out into his hand. He then tossed the necklace into the growing pile. Placing the ruby on the polished wooden block in front of him, he began to hone his blade.

"Would you mind, you know, giving me something to wear? This bed sheet isn't all too ideal."

Kenshin looked up from his work and seemed to ponder something. "I'll see what I can dig up." He said.

He looked under the bed and various dressers. From the bed he pulled up something black.

He got up and pushed the red hair out of his face and dangled the black cloth in front of her eyes.

"What is it?" She said, pulling the cloth down from his finger and looking at it.

"You don't know what a thong is?" He said mockingly. He crooked a finger beckoning for her to lean closer. He had to beckon her several times before she dropped her skeptical eyebrow and was in range, then he whispered into her ear confidentially.

"A what?!" She dropped it from her hand and backed up her face turning slightly pink. "How did you get it? Is this some kind of hobby of yours?"

"It was left here, actually." He said, shrugging.

Kaoru turned pink as the implications of this dawned on her.

"Well, take your pick." Kenshin said, motioning to the various articles of clothing on the bed in front her.

She picked up a bikini top with coins hanging off, skipped the several items of undergarments, a corset with the strings ripped, and settled on a black with embroidered gold flowers Chinese dress that only reached to the top of her thighs, that being the least revealing of the choices.

"Don't you have anything longer?"

Kenshin shrugged.

She looked up at him, he was watching her with his arms crossed and an amused look on his face. "Well?"

"Well?" He echoed her, not moving an inch.

She plastered a fake sweet smile on her face. "Prince Kenshin, would you _please_ allow me some privacy to change in?"

"Only because I'm such a gentleman. Oh and you do it there, behind that screen," He pointed toward a corner of the room, a paper folding screen standing guard in front of it. He slowly walked back to his katana.

Kaoru watched him for several seconds, before wrapping the black bed sheet securely around her and heading towards the screen, the silk trailing behind her like a bride's train.

She dropped her blanket once she was behind it. Picking up the dress she began to put it on. While she buttoned the high necked collar, her hands working around the embroidered silk buttons she looked at the various depictions of dragons on the folding screen. When she finished she ran her hand over her stomach and smoothed the black silk. With the back of her hand she held the hem at the back of her dress and pulled down, it was _so short_. Turning her head over her shoulder to look she caught something red outside.

It was Kenshin, leaning against a tree with a smug look on his face. When he noticed her gaping at him, he gave a little wave. She started and gave a little yelp. Kenshin watched amused as her expression changed. She was pale and wide eyed, then a deep red when what he had been doing and how long he had been doing it dawned on her, then her blue eyes narrowed as a look of rage crossed her face.

He did a series of hand signals. 'I'll meet you inside.' He meant. And he walked past the window and out of her sight.

She confronted him at the door to the garden.

He grinned as she stood there, one hand on the door, blocking the way in.

"_Gentleman. Privacy._ Joke?" She said.

"I guess you don't find that funny either." He pushed past her. "By the way," He said, whirling around, "You look half-decent from the back."

She held the back of her dress with the heel of her hand and stalked into the room. She looked around the room. She finally looked at him and said, "Shoes."

"What do you mean?"

"Shoes." She repeated.

"What do you need shoes for?" He crossed his arms and looked at her from across the room.

"For walking?"

A thought came to her and she hurried towards the door to the garden. She got it halfway open before he slammed it shut. He stood with one hand on the door, above her head and was so close to her back that she could feel the heat from his body on her back.

"Uh uh. I don't think so." He was talking into her ear.

"But you said…" She almost gulped.

"I said I saved your life, which I did. I didn't say, 'I set you free'"

"Well then, what do you want with me?"

"You're interesting. I've decided to keep you as my little pet."

"Your _what?_"

A/N: I'm sorry this is so diff from the first chapter but… That was quite a while ago and I totally lost sight of my whole character there. (as you may have noticed)


End file.
